America's natural wonders had staunch defenders

Presidents Roosevelt and Wilson established important national parks

9:17 AM,
Feb. 26, 2014

On Feb. 26, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson authorized the Grand Canyon National Park, fulling a dream his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt expressed 15 years earlier: 'Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.' Read more on this and other Teachable Moments online http://www.tennessean.com/section/OPINION04

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On Feb. 26, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Grand Canyon National Park Act protecting the national monument that his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, had created in 1908. He also created Lafayette National Park on Mount Desert Island in Maine, the first national park east of the Mississippi River.

They were the 14th and 15th areas designated national parks.

The first national park was Yellowstone, established on Mar. 1, 1872. Yellowstone is considered the first national park established by any country. Geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden's second expedition to survey the ...